The recent use of magnetic sensor probes to detect magnetic nanoparticles in the localization of sentinel lymph nodes in the staging of cancer in preparation for surgery has made the job of determining the location of the sentinel nodes easier for the surgeon. Further, the use of a probe to detect magnetic markers has also made relocating biopsy sites easier after pathology microscopic examination of excised tissue.
The inventors of the sensor probes for these systems seek to improve the design by: reducing thermal effects which cause coils in the sensor to shift with respect to one another and reduce the ability of the user to detect the signal from the magnetic nanoparticles; reducing interference caused by diamagnetic responses due to the body itself; and reducing the interference caused by eddy currents induced in objects near the sensor probe. In addition, it is desired that all these functional improvements be accomplished using a smaller sized probe with heightened sensitivity.
The present invention addresses this need.